Page 23 of Tavarr's Mate
No man has ever kissed me with such passion or incited my womanly core to pulse so hot with abandon.
Without thought, I push his shirt up to trace his hard, chiseled abs.Oh yes. Fucking yes.A shudder runs through me. He breaks away from our kiss and emits a deep, animalistic growl that echoes off the walls. He presses his forehead against mine. His hot breath wafts onto my face. He grips my upper arms and holds tight, but again, not hard enough to bruise. Though he’s being a bit rough and highhanded—he did enter my room without knocking—he’s not hurting me in any way.
He’s not Vonn, I remind myself.He’s not Harry, either. Thank God for that.
“Please. I must know. Do you promise you aren’t claiming me for some nefarious reason?” I ask, somehow trusting him to answer honestly. Everything in my body aches to trust him, resonates with yearning to believe he is an honorable Kleaxian whose mind isn’t clouded by hate and a thirst for vengeance. “Do you promise you won’t harm me to punish me for your brother’s death?”
He gives another growl, this one agitated, but I soon realize he’s not upset with me. He’s upset that I must even ask the question. He’s upset with his horrid brother.
“Vonn was a disgrace. His first mate, Erixa, was meant to be mine—our fathers arranged the match—but he stole her away and mated with her before I could. He was long ago banished from Hehna, the town where my family lives on the other side of the mountain. I assure you that no one in my family mourns his death, especially after learning of how he almost killed a female. Though you are human, you are still a female and your life is precious.” He strokes my cheek, his gaze pained. “I seek no vengeance against you, Katrina. I seek only to make you mine, to treasure you as my mate until the end of my days.”
I take a deep breath. “If-if I ever disobey you, will you hurt me? Will you punish me?”
He’s quiet for a moment, but continues trailing a finger across my cheek, leaving a wake of tingling heat on my flesh. “Katrina, you have nothing to fear,” he finally says. “If you are naughty, the worst you can expect is a spanking. I will never strike you with an implement of any kind, not even my belt. But I will not abide a disobedient mate. There are rules you will be expected to follow. If you break one of those rules, I will not hesitate to turn you over my knee and redden your bare little bottom.”
His declaration should anger me, but it doesn’t. My traitorous body vibrates with arousal as I imagine being turned over his knee. I’ve never been spanked before, and for a reason I can’t fathom, the image painted in my mind—of me laying over his lap with my skirts lifted and my bare bottom on display while he scolds and spanks—leaves me as breathless as his kisses.
I gulp and attempt to control my growing lust, trying to convince myself this isn’t some sort of kinky bedroom play. He seriously will spank me as punishment if I’m naughty.
Not wanting him to sense my conflicted excitement, I say, “Well then, I shall endeavor to be perfectly behaved.”
Chapter Thirteen
Helena, Joanna, and Zandek are nowhere to be seen as I leave with Tavarr. Even the servants have made themselves scarce. Maybe they decided to escape the house to give us privacy, in case Tavarr claimed me upstairs in the room I’ve called mine these past few weeks.
I’m surprised to see the door of Vonn’s home has been painted a deep red, and there are other changes inside too. New curtains. Furniture has been rearranged. Artwork has been added to the walls. Even the lighting fixtures are different, smooth glowing orbs on the walls in place of the original sconces.
It looks nothing like before, and I stare at Tavarr in question as we stand in the middle of the sitting room—a room I’d never actually entered before. The only two rooms I’m intimately familiar with are the master bedroom and the kitchen, but Tavarr likely doesn’t know that. While I hadn’t spent any time outside the bedroom or kitchen, I had glimpsed the rest of Vonn’s house as he dragged me upstairs that first day. It had been clean but cluttered, but now it is much more open and stylish, the interior similar to that of Zandek’s house.
“Did you do all this yourself?”
He guides me through the sitting room and we soon reach the bottom of the stairs. Finally, he pauses and turns to settle his gaze on mine. “I hired a company to do it quickly, while I was away in our prime city. Since I must remain in Cempha to honor my commitment to help Prince Kenan train his warriors, I thought it best to remodel this house as much as possible. I worried the familiarity of the place might upset you, given that your previous time here was spent in great fear and misery.” He brushes my hair behind my ears and anguish darkens his stare. “I spoke with the doctor who treated you. I know exactly what Vonn did to you and I am truly sorry for it. If he wasn’t already dead, I would kill him myself.” He pauses for a moment. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place?”
I give him a small, shy smile. I’m absolutely touched by this gesture. I haven’t even thought about how it would feel to enter Vonn’s house again, but Tavarr has, and he has gone above and beyond to ensure my comfort. “Everything looks great. Th-thank you. It doesn’t even look like the same house.”
As we stand at the bottom of the stairs, peering into each other’s eyes, a huge weight falls from my shoulders. Suddenly, I can breathe easier, and the lingering worries I’ve held over Tavarr’s true intentions evaporate on the breeze that’s flowing through the open windows.
He runs his hands over my bare shoulders and down my arms, eliciting a shiver followed by goosebumps. His eyes flame with hunger and anticipation. My chest rises and falls in rapid succession, my pulse quickening in the wake of my burgeoning need. I’m slick between my thighs, wetter than I’ve ever been for a man.
“I’m going to carry you upstairs, sweet human, and make you mine.Mine,” he says with absolute authority. “I’m going to make you see stars and scream my name while I’m pounding into you, and just when you think you can’t take any more, I am going to spill my seed deep in your little pussy.”
His words leave me both speechless and breathless. I start to climb the stairs, only for him to sweep me up in his arms. He presses his face into my hair and neck, then emits a rumbling growl that sets my pulse racing and my insides quivering with need.
He climbs the steps, three at a time, and enters the master bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it’s been redecorated. New artwork, new light fixtures, and the walls have been painted light yellow, and the moldings a vivid white. A swirling intricate design in blue and green has been painted on the ceiling around the circular skylight that rests directly over the bed.
The bed is a bit larger, and there’s a still a cage at the end of it, though its bars are a gleaming silver and it’s filled with pillows and blankets. I’m too caught up in the moment, knowing he’s about to claim me, to wonder if he’ll make me sleep there later.
He sets me on the bed and immediately crawls atop me, straddling my hips as his hardness digs into my center. Through the layers of his pants and my dress, I swear I can feel the heat of his massive erection pulsating hotter and hotter, aching to be released from the confines of his clothing. He gyrates against me and captures my wrists above my head, pinning me in place. With his free hand, he roams my body, caressing and groping and squeezing hard.
Satisfaction and hunger gleam in his dark, sexy eyes. The urge to please him overwhelms me, leaving me surprised. I hardly know him, but this feels right, as if our joining is meant to be.
He kisses me hard, growling into my mouth as his tongue sweeps over mine with a fierce possessiveness that rocks me to my very core. He’s not putting all his weight on me, for which I’m thankful, and I’m able to part my thighs slightly and grind up against him. I struggle in his grip, trying to free my hands, but only because I wish to run my fingers through his long locks.
He tightens his grip on my wrists and pulls back from the kiss. The scolding look he gives me makes my desire unfurl into a thousand simultaneous quakes of pleasure, my entire body thrumming at his nearness.
“Don’t be naughty, sweet human.”
He maintains his hold on my wrists and dips his head to my breasts, suckling my nipples through the sheer layers of my gown.
